PRESS RELEASE
The 27th Annual Melaleuca Freedom Celebration, which is currently the largest Independence Day fireworks show west of the Mississippi River, will illuminate the night sky with over 18,000 breathtaking fireworks, ground-shaking pyrotechnics and never-before-seen special effects. As one of the biggest firework shows in America, the Melaleuca Freedom Celebration combines world-class fireworks, patriotic messages and inspiring music to honor the brave men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country.
The Melaleuca Freedom Celebration has earned the American Pyrotechnics Association’s recognition as a “must-see Independence Day firework display” in 2017 and 2018, and USA Today, Travel + Leisure magazine, and Yahoo! have featured it as one of the best firework displays in America.
The event packs more firepower than nearly every other Independence Day show in America, including those in Chicago, Boston and Philadelphia as well as San Francisco, Los Angeles, Seattle, Dallas and Houston.
Hundreds of families from all over the country return to Idaho Falls each year to experience the event. Last year, the event brought 200,000 spectators to Idaho Falls, tripling the town’s population and making it the largest event in Idaho. This year, police expect the crowd to grow even more as the police proved last year they can empty the streets much more quickly than in previous years.
Beginning at 10 p.m., this free show lasts for 31 adrenalin-filled minutes and synchs with a soundtrack that inspires patriotism and appreciation for the freedoms we enjoy in America. Melaleuca, an American company that manufactures more than 450 health and wellness products, is headquartered in Idaho Falls. Melaleuca increases the show’s budget each year to ensure it remains the largest show west of the Mississippi on Independence Day.
“Our pyrotechnicians scout the top international firework competitions, select the most vibrant and intense products, and showcase the world’s best competition-grade fireworks right here in Idaho Falls,” Melaleuca CEO Frank VanderSloot said. “Our approach to creating one of the best fireworks shows in the country is to use the night sky above the Snake River as our canvas. We’ll paint the entire sky, from top to bottom, using every color of the rainbow and synchronizing every shell and every note with the soundtrack.”
This year’s show will delight spectators with new special effects that include stained-glass patterns, twinkling diamonds that morph into stars, glittering fish, silver bees and color-changing shells that sweep across the sky.
This year’s event is at Snake River Landing, which features a 110-acre outdoor amphitheater created and designed exclusively for the show. The elevated launch pad is twice as long as a football field, allowing fireworks to span across the ground as well as across the sky. Spectators should sit directly west of the fireworks launch pad in the 70-acre lawn to have the best panoramic view of the fireworks. Idaho Falls is the only city in America with an amphitheater designed specifically for the Independence Day fireworks show.
Those attending the event at Snake River Landing will experience the program over a network of 100 high-powered, 1000-watt wireless speakers provided by Melaleuca exclusively for this event. This year’s audio program, which plays simultaneously and synchronizes with the fireworks, takes the audience through key events in our nation’s history; honors our veterans, our soldiers and their families; and inspires a deeper sense of patriotism. The soundtrack will be broadcast live on Classy 97, which has carried the program for the last 27 years.
“Classy 97 is part of the Idaho Falls tradition,” VanderSloot says. “If you don’t listen to the patriotic message, you will miss the whole meaning of the event and you will go home without experiencing the tribute that veterans deserve. So bring your radio!,” VanderSloot said.
To precisely coordinate fireworks with this musical soundtrack, the pyrotechnicians will use the most sophisticated firing system in the world. This same technology has been used at the Olympics and the world’s most elite firework competitions, since it accurately syncs the fireworks within one-hundredth of a second to the soundtrack.
“We are celebrating liberty while remembering the ultimate price paid by men and women who we’ll never know and whose stories will never be told,” VanderSloot said. “Their lives were cut short because of their sacrifice for us. We are so grateful! We just want to use these 31 minutes to tell them thank you. The hundreds of thousands in attendance increase the intensity of our tribute to them.”
Source: Melaleuca, Inc.
